Multi-point capacitive information transfer

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the invention provide devices and systems for the transfer of information using multi-point contact on a capacitive surface. In one embodiment, the invention provides a device comprising: a first surface having a plurality of contact points arranged in a pattern and a second surface having a contact area electrically connected to the plurality of contact points, whereby the plurality of contact points on the first surface is activated by a user contacting the contact area on the second surface.

BACKGROUND

Embodiments of the invention relate to information transfer and, moreparticularly, to a device and system for the transfer of informationusing multi-point contact on a capacitive surface.

Many transactions employ the transfer of information from a first deviceor object controlled or accessed by a user to a second device or object,which may be controlled by someone other than the user. Simple examplesinclude, for example, the use of a credit card or debit card at a cardreader or similar device, whereby the user swipes the card through thecard reader to transfer information from the card to the reader. Thetransferred information (e.g., account number, account or cardexpiration date, a card security number, a name of an account holder,etc.) may then be used in completing a transaction, such as the purchaseof goods or services.

In other cases, information from the card must be entered by the user orsomeone other than the user. This may arise, for example, in cases wherea user is making an on-line purchase. Entry of the necessary informationis prone to error and time-consuming. These deficiencies are morepronounced when entering the information using a smart phone, tabletcomputer, or similar device, given their small size and, more and morefrequently, the absence of a physical keypad in favor of a touch screenor similar device.

SUMMARY

One embodiment of the invention provides a device comprising: a firstsurface having a plurality of contact points arranged in a pattern and asecond surface having a contact area electrically connected to theplurality of contact points, whereby the plurality of contact points onthe first surface is activated by a user contacting the contact area onthe second surface.

Another embodiment of the invention provides a system for transferringinformation, the system comprising: a device having a first surfacehaving a plurality of contact points arranged in a pattern and a secondsurface having a contact area electrically connected to the plurality ofcontact points, and a capacitive screen with which the first surface ofthe device may be placed in contact, whereby the pattern is transferredto the capacitive screen when the plurality of contact points on thefirst surface of the device is activated by a user contacting thecontact area on the second surface of the device.

The illustrative aspects of the present invention are designed to solvethe problems herein described and other problems not discussed, whichare discoverable by a skilled artisan.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features of this invention will be more readilyunderstood from the following detailed description of the variousaspects of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings that depict various embodiments of the invention, in which:

FIGS. 1 and 2 show top and cross-sectional side views, respectively, ofa device according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show alternate top and cross-sectional side views,respectively, of the device of FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show top and cross-sectional side views, respectively, ofthe device of FIGS. 1-4 used with a smart phone having a capacitivescreen.

It is noted that the drawings of the invention are not to scale. Thedrawings are intended to depict only typical aspects of the invention,and therefore should not be considered as limiting the scope of theinvention. In the drawings, like numbering represents like elementsbetween the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a device100 according to an embodiment of the invention. Device 100 resembles atypical credit card, debit card, or similar device for storing andtransferring information. As such, device 100 includes, on a firstsurface 10, an account number 14, an account holder name 16, and adevice expiration date 18.

In addition, however, device 100 includes a plurality of contact points12 on first surface 10. The plurality of contact points 12 may be usedto transfer information to a capacitive surface capable of recognizingmultiple contact points, such as may be found in the screen of a smartphone, tablet computer, or similar device, as will be explained ingreater detail below.

As can be seen in FIG. 1, the plurality of contact points 12 is arrangedin a pattern, by which information may be transferred from device 100 toa capacitive surface. The plurality of contact points 12 may, in someembodiments of the invention, include one or more positioning contactpoint 12A, 12B, 12C, 12D, which may aid in orienting the plurality ofcontact points 12 to ensure accurate pattern recognition. Each of theplurality of contact points 12 may include a metallic material capableof recognition by a capacitive surface, as will be understood by oneskilled in the art.

FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional side view of device 100 taken throughplane A of FIG. 1. In FIG. 2, a second surface 20 is shown oppositefirst surface 10. Second surface 20 includes a contact area 22electrically connected to each of the plurality of contact points 12. Inuse, first surface 10 is placed in contact with a capacitive surface(e.g., a smart phone screen, a track pad, a tablet computer screen,etc.) and a user places one or more fingers on contact area 22, therebyactivating each of the plurality of contact points 12. A deviceassociated with the capacitive surface (e.g., a smart phone, a tablecomputer, etc.) may then read and interpret the pattern transferred tothe capacitive surface by the plurality of contact points 12.

FIG. 3 shows second surface 20 of device 100. Device 100 may includeconventional features, such as a magnetic stripe 24 and a signaturefield 26.

Contact area 22 is shown having an octagonal shape and located inapproximately the center of device 100, although this is neithernecessary nor essential. Contact area 22 may be of any shape and locatedanywhere on second surface 20. Similarly, contact area 22 may be of anysize sufficient for its use in providing a location for a user to placeone or more fingers.

In some embodiments of the invention, device 100 may include more thanone contact area—a first contact area 22 and an additional contact area23—whereby a user may place a finger in contact with each contact areain order to activate each of the plurality of contact points 12 and anadditional plurality of contact points 13 (FIGS. 1-2). In otherembodiments of the invention, a user may contact a first contact areawith a finger to activate the plurality of contact points 12 and acontact an additional contact area 23 with a finger to activate anadditional plurality of contact points 13.

FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional side view of device 100 taken throughplane B of FIG. 3, showing features similar to those of FIG. 2.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show top and cross-sectional side views, respectively, ofdevice 100 in contact with a smartphone 200 having a capacitive screen210. The view of FIG. 6 is taken through plane C of FIG. 5.

In FIG. 6, a user's finger 300 can be seen in contact with contact area22 (FIG. 4) of device 100, thereby activating the plurality of contactpoints 12 (FIG. 4) in contact with capacitive screen 210. In someembodiments of the invention, activation of the plurality of contactpoints 12 may require that the user exert a pressure 310 against contactarea 22.

Upon activating the plurality of contact points 12, the pattern in whichthe plurality of contact points 12 are arranged is transferred tocapacitive screen 210, as described above. Smart phone 200 or a similardevice may then perform an interpretation of the pattern to revealinformation contained within the pattern, such as, for example, anaccount number, an account expiration date, a device expiration date, acredit card security number, or a name of an account holder. As such,smart phone 200, or another device in communication with smart phone200, may contain or access a computer program product for translatingthe pattern.

Other types of information may similarly be transferred as apre-determined pattern from device 100 to smart phone 200 or a similardevice, and then translated, as will be apparent to one skilled in theart.

The interpretation performed by smart phone 200 may be conventional, asmay the pattern used to encode the information to be transferred. Forexample, the pattern may simply employ a pattern of rows and columns,with the position of a contact point within the pattern of rows andcolumns representing a particular alphabetic or numeric value. This isneither necessary nor essential, however. Information may be encoded inany known or later-developed pattern, with the interpretation of thepattern being made by any corresponding known or later-developed methodor technique.

Variations and modifications of the embodiments of the inventiondescribed above will be apparent to one skilled in the art and arewithin the scope of the present invention. For example, although device100 is described and shown herein as a credit card or debit card, anynumber of other shapes or forms may similarly be used in practicing theinvention. Some embodiments of the device, for example, may take theform of a cube or a disc. Similarly, although the embodiments describedabove employ a first surface opposite the second surface, otherarrangements are possible.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure.As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

The foregoing description of various aspects of the invention has beenpresented for purposes of illustration and description. It is notintended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise formdisclosed, and obviously, many modifications and variations arepossible. Such modifications and variations that may be apparent to aperson skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scopeof the invention as defined by the accompanying claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A device comprising: a first surface having aplurality of contact points arranged in a pattern; and a second surfacehaving a contact area electrically connected to each of the plurality ofcontact points, whereby each of the plurality of contact points on thefirst surface is simultaneously activated by a user contacting andexerting a pressure against the contact area on the second surface and,when activated, the plurality of contact points is capable oftransferring the pattern to a capacitive screen in contact with thefirst surface; wherein: the first surface includes an additionalplurality of contact points arranged in an additional pattern; and thesecond surface includes an additional contact area electricallyconnected to each of the additional plurality of contact points, wherebyeach of the additional plurality of contact points on the first surfaceis simultaneously activated by the user contacting and exerting apressure against the additional contact area on the second surface and,when activated, the additional plurality of contact points transfers theadditional pattern to the capacitive screen.
 2. The device of claim 1,wherein the plurality of contact points includes at least onepositioning contact point.
 3. The device of claim 1, wherein the patternis a pre-determined pattern representative of an account number.
 4. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein the first surface is opposite the secondsurface and the plurality of contact points is opposite the contactarea.
 5. A system for transferring information, the system comprising: adevice having: a first surface having a plurality of contact pointsarranged in a pattern; and a second surface having a contact areaelectrically connected to each of the plurality of contact points; and acapacitive screen with which the first surface of the device may beplaced in contact, whereby the pattern is transferred to the capacitivescreen when each of the plurality of contact points on the first surfaceof the device is simultaneously activated by a user contacting andexerting a pressure against the contact area on the second surface ofthe device; wherein: the first surface of the device includes anadditional plurality of contact points arranged in an additionalpattern; and the second surface of the device includes an additionalcontact area electrically connected to each of the additional pluralityof contact points, whereby each of the additional plurality of contactpoints on the first surface is simultaneously activated by the usercontacting and exerting a pressure against the additional contact areaon the second surface and, when activated, the additional plurality ofcontact points is capable of transferring the additional pattern to thecapacitive screen in contact with the first surface.
 6. The system ofclaim 5, wherein the pattern is a pre-determined pattern representativeof an account number.
 7. The system of claim 6, further comprising: acomputer program product capable of translating the pre-determinedpattern into the account number.
 8. The system of claim 5, wherein thepattern is a pre-determined pattern representative of at least one ofthe following: an account number, an account expiration date, a deviceexpiration date, a credit card security number, or a name of an accountholder.